13 Reasons 2015 Was The Year Of The Period

"There will be blood." —2015, probably

1. One woman ran the entire London Marathon while free-bleeding.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/rossalynwarren/a-woman-ran-a-marathon-free-bleeding-to-take-a-stand-against#.deGwVLJdG

http://www.buzzfeed.com/rossalynwarren/a-woman-ran-a-marathon-free-bleeding-to-take-a-stand-against#.deGwVLJdG

Kiran Gandhi told BuzzFeed News, “I don’t care if people want to make fun of me. I felt good doing it, it’s my life, and it’s my story.”

2. A period-themed hackathon called Hack the Flow was held at NYU.

Ijele Ochie / Via buzzfeed.com

It was organized by Lauren Towles as part of her final thesis project at NYU's Tandon School of Engineering, and the goal was to think up projects to help reduce the stigma around periods.

3. This photo series starring period blood was restored to Instagram after they banned it — twice.

instagram.com

The series was created by Toronto college student Rupi Kaur. When Instagram banned the photo, Kaur posted it on Facebook with an open letter to Instagram, calling them out for censoring it. They responded by restoring her photo and saying that it was removed by mistake.

4. There were lots of period tracking apps.

itunes.apple.com

itunes.apple.com

bellabeat.com

Like Clue, Period Tracker, and the bellabeat LEAF.

5. And new advertisements for Thinx period panties that got right to the point.

shethinx.com

There was talk of the New York MTA banning the ads, but they were eventually approved.

6. Another ad campaign got people to talk openly about the first time they menstruated.

youtube.com / Via buzzfeed.com

The short film came from underwear brand Dear Kate. "It has been awesome to see people’s willingness to talk about something that typically isn’t talked about. By hearing other women’s stories about a time and an experience that made me personally feel so vulnerable, I am reminded that I was not alone,” Isabella Giancarlo, Dear Kate’s creative coordinator, told BuzzFeed News.

7. People tweeted their bleeding habits with #LiveTweetYourPeriod.

Twitter: @COYADD

Started by BuzzFeed's own Tracy Clayton last December, it was mentioned in the New York Times in June and sparked another slew of tweets.

8. Someone protested the tampon tax in the UK by free-bleeding outside parliament.

charliesgettingbetter.tumblr.com

In October, members of UK parliament voted against a motion that would challenge the current "tampon tax," which categorizes sanitary products as "non-essential, luxury" items.

“If people are grossed out by me not wearing a tampon then I think that emphasizes my point," Charlie Edge, a 22-year-old from Berkshire, told BuzzFeed News. "They’re not ‘luxury items.'”

9. And lots of other people tweeted about why tampons are definitely not ~luxurious AF~.

Twitter: @AllyKatte

10. One woman made some beautiful period jewelry.

lili-mj.com

lili-mj.com

Lili Murphy Johnson, a 23-year-old art school graduate, told BuzzFeed that she created the collection of period-themed accessories as part of her degree. You can find more on her website.

11. And a college student created these potential ice cream flavors for PMS sufferers.

behance.net

They're sadly not actually available. But the designer, Parker Jones, told BuzzFeed that she hopes to partner up with someone who knows a thing or two about producing ice cream.

12. British tennis star Heather Watson was praised for talking about how her period screwed with her performance.

Clive Brunskill / Getty Images

After losing in the first round of the Australian Open, she told BBC that she was dealing with some period side effects and planned to check with a doctor about how to not let this interfere with her performance in the future. Other female tennis pros quickly backed her up:

"I think Heather is pretty brave to come out and speak about it so openly," former British tennis player Annabel Cross told BBC's Radio 5. "Women dealing with these issues at any time is hard enough but actually trying to go out there and play high level sport...it's just really unlucky."

"We have to deal with another element that no one speaks about really," tennis player Tara Moore told The Telegraph.

13. Oh yeah, and one woman painted a portrait of Donald Trump using menstrual blood.

etsy.com

It's available on Etsy for $20, and the proceeds go to an immigrants' rights organization.